Josh+Schumacher

Josh Schumacher


 * Research Question**

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of student attendance rate on math achievement in high schools that utilize a standards-based curriculum. Although some researchers purport difficulty in correlating student attendance with achievement, we will attempt to identify the actual relationship between the two variables.


 * What the research literature has to say**

In a classic study by Ken Duckworth, he states that “the first step toward reducing absenteeism is to improve the information available on truant behavior” (1988, p. 3). Much information has been presented on truant behavior, or high rates of student absenteeism, however, previous research has narrowly focused on only a few main concepts. Early research into the topic of attendance and achievement focused on identifying the type of students that missed the most school. These studies generally found that attendance rate “varied by grade level” and that “boys skipped more than girls” (Duckworth, 1998, p. 9). Building on this body of research, studies then attempted to determine the reasons that students missed school. Many of these focused on the effect of either peer group and family or community factors on student attendance rate.


 * Methods of investigation**

Participants for this study will be 11th grades currently enrolled in junior level math classes in a large high school district in the northwestern suburbs of Chicago. This school district is made up of five high schools two alternative schools. The district had an enrollment of 12,800 students during the 2010-2011 school year, 3125 of which are juniors. The district requires 3 credits of math as a graduation requirement, so almost all juniors are enrolled in math coursework. This study will focus on three math courses, all offered primarily to junior students. These courses include two different levels of Algebra 2 (M314 and M317) and one level of Trigonometry (M417). These two Algebra courses represent courses in which enrollment is defined by previous standardized test scores.

This study will be conducted by collected data from 12 different sections of the aforementioned courses at each regular high school in the district. Four sections from each course (M314, M317, and M417) will be randomly selected by computer. This will amount to a sample size of 20 sections of M314, M317, and M417 drawn randomly from schools in this district. The student enrollment of each course is approximately 30 students, leading to a sample size of N=600. This number is an approximation and could change during the course of the study due to many factors. In order to provide valid, reliable data, only junior-level students will be included in the study. Students who are re-taking the same course a second time will be omitted from this study, as will any student who transfers in or out of the sample population during this time. Student attendance data will be collected through the district student information system. Quarter and semester course grades will be used to show student achievement in the course. Additionally, ACT math sub score will be used to determine mathematical achievement. Both student course grades and ACT math sub score are assumed to be a valid indicator of student achievement in math. Grades and attendance will be collected on a quarterly basis and analyzed separately and as a whole to minimize the effect that the school calendar may play on grades.


 * New questions**

To add to the confusion regarding the actual correlations and implications between student attendance and scholastic achievement, much of the previous research has occurred during a time where curriculum organization was under local school district control, thus exacerbating the problem of collecting and correlating actual individual student results on a large scale. The inferences made in previous studies may only be applicable to the schools or districts that student data was drawn from. A current paradigm shift from local curricular control, or site-based management, to a universal standards-based curriculum such as the Common Core Standards may prove previous research to be irrelevant. In the current educational framework of standardized testing and standards-based curriculum, further research is needed on the actual effects of student attendance on achievement in these models. Furthermore, as the educational world has made a shift to a standards-based curriculum, previous conclusions of the effects of student attendance on achievement were based on the assumption that student curriculum was the same from school to school, district to district, and state to state. These assumptions may have been false.


 * Possible Next Steps**

The project will commence with the beginning of the 2012-2013 academic year. Individual student attendance rates and course grades will be collected in October, January, April, and June. ACT test scores will be collected in July. Data analysis and evaluation of results will take place on an ongoing basis beginning in October.


 * Invitation for class members to participate**

We (educators) always tell students and parents that attendance in our classes is so important. We sometimes even get mad when students miss our class. My aim is to find the exact correlation between attendance and achievement. This way we can define specific thresholds of attendance and develop specific interventions to ensure that student attendance is as high as possible. My questions to you are:


 * 1) How important is attendance in your class?
 * 2) How many absences do think significantly affect student achievement?
 * 3) Do you think that students can/should/will achieve if they are in your class on a daily basis?


 * Visual representation of my topic**